Reviews

In a festival devoted largely to Bach’s Italian influence, the first weekend was claimed by Bach’s decidedly German Lutheran masterpiece.

Music@Menlo, a bold venture has thrived and made a name for itself worldwide, each subsequent season reconfirming and enriching its excellence, is now in its 12th season.

ABS Festival and Academy participants show no moderation at all in their splendid performance of Handel’s L’Allegro.

The American Bach Soloists convey listeners into a festive spirit with a variety of works that influenced J.S. Bach, including Frederick the Great, Buxtehude, Kuhnau, and a Bach cousin.

The Merola presentation of A Streetcar Named Desire is a triumph for the singers despite the challenges of the operatic version of the classic.

An AT&T Park crowd, gathered for S.F. Opera’s simulcast of La traviata was treated to a fine, all-American cast that revivified the production.

The Silicon Valley Music Festival, now in its third season, has acquired some desirable accoutrements: an attractive program book and a set of venues concentrated in downtown San Jose.

A semi-staged production of Peter Grimes by the S.F. Symphony is the perfect way to honor Britten seven months after the centennial of his birth.

Old to freshly minted music highlights the pan-stylistic nature of much contemporary music in the bracing Ojai North festival.

The Classical Style: An Opera (of Sorts) is a hit, with a libretto by Jeremy Denk, Steven Stucky’s savvy pastiches, conducting by Rovert Spano, deft orchestrations for an ensemble of 40 musicians, and singing by eight superb professionals.